The setting i s Vienna in 1914 before  the outbrea k of war. Th e aristocrati c and somewh at jaded Prince Nicki, pu rsued by all t he ladies,  begins a fli rtation wit h Mitzi,  a crippl ed harpis t who works  in a su burban win e-garden, a nd who is in turn idolize d by Schani , an uncout h and viole ntly jealous b utcher. Their first enco unter si gnificant ly takes place in fron t of St.  Stephen&amp ;#39;s Cat hedral on Co rpus Chri sti day, with  Nicki among  the emperor& amp;#39; s cavalry regimen t. Later, in the refra cted light  of falling appl e blossom s in the wine-garden --scenes  of a disti lled, ether eal beauty- -Nicki graduall y wins her fai th and l ove. Me anwhile, amids t the sumptuous and corrupt milieu of  the family pal ace, Nicki is drawn  into complic ity against hi s will, as hi s unscru pulous moth er informs hi m he mus t marry Cecelia, t he daughter of  a wealthy commo ner, in ord er to re vive th e family f ortune. Mitz i has a  vision  of The I ron Man (a symb ol of the de clining pow er and posi tion of the Hap sburg dynasty)  and fal ls before the c rucifix in fe ar; but h er love r emains stea dfast, and she protest s her fa ith tho ugh abused b y her mother an d Schani. Infuriate d by her r ejection,  Schani  threatens  to kill Ni cki on  his wedding  day unless  Mitzi ag rees to marry  him. Following the processio nal splendo r of the cathe dral wedding,  Schani  appears to carr y out his threat,  but Mitzi a rrives  in time to sto p him;  and throu gh the downp ouring rain Nicki sa dly gaz es on his tr ue love in th e crowd  as he driv es away wi th his bride.　 　The settin g is Vienna in 1914 b efore the outbrea k of war. The aristocra tic and somewhat jaded Prin